West Bank sees signs of civilization

Signs of normal life were popping up on the West Bank Wednesday, with increasingly heavy traffic on the West Bank Expressway and more and more businesses opening their doors to customers.

While Gen. de Gaulle Drive in Algiers remained sparsely traveled with only emergency and official vehicles in sight, grocery stores, service stations and some specialty shops in West Jefferson were up and running, as were the post offices in Gretna and Westwego.

With the West Bank taking a much lesser blow from Hurricane Katrina than other areas, businesses seemed eager to welcome customers back. One of earliest West Bank stores to reopen was the Walgreens at the West Bank Expressway and Stumpf Boulevard in Gretna. Manager Ed Mitts said the store opened on Sept. 8, staffed at first only by managers, and has dispensed several thousand prescriptions.

"There were old ladies coming in with bags full of empty prescription vials, needing their medicine, and that made it all worthwhile for us, " Mitts said. The drug store also has sold plenty of food staples, such as milk and bread, and visiting National Guard soldiers have been among its most steady customers.

Walgreens spokesman Michael Polzin said the Gretna store is one of 15 in the New Orleans area that are open now, including ones in Kenner, Westwego and Marrero, as well as two each in Slidell, Mandeville (Katrina photos: Back to Mandeville), Covington and Hammond and three in Metairie, he said.

All of the open stores have fully operating pharmacies, Polzin said in a telephone interview from Deerfield, Ill. "We put a priority on opening the pharmacies, especially the first week or two after the storm, " he said.

Ragusa Supermarket on the West Bank Expressway in Marrero opened on Tuesday, and Marrero residents Jerry Weaver and Lisa Bush were happy Wednesday to see signs of civilization returning to their neighborhood.

"We're here to get a few groceries, " Weaver said. "This is important because I called some friends of mine who weren't going to come back yet, but when I told them there was a place to get food, they said they will return soon."

While the Nations Rent store at the West Bank Expressway and Jung Boulevard in Marrero opened the day after the storm to provide generators and light towers to Westwego police and other law enforcement agencies, it is now open to regular customers. District Manager Chris Scott said the store is renting plenty of generators, safety supplies and clearing equipment.

Kenneth Hebert, owner of the Fina service station at the corner of Avenue A and the West Bank Expressway in Westwego, also helped law enforcement officers by supplying gasoline in the days immediately following the storm and now is open to all customers.

Hebert also is offering tire repairs, a much-needed service with so much debris in the streets. "We've been fixing about 50 tires a day, " he said.

"Things are definitely getting better in Gretna. I won't say getting back to normal, but definitely better, " Gretna Mayor Ronnie Harris said. The city has removed the boil order for its water, but asks residents to let their hot and cold faucets run for 10 minutes to flush out any impurities.

Meanwhile, Gretna is serving as a base for relief efforts for harder hit areas, such as Plaquemines Parish, Harris said. Food, water and ice are being distributed at two locations in Gretna, Laborie's supermarket on Lafayette Street and the Gretna Bingo Palace, at 1700 Franklin St.